Groundwater in its native aquifer may contain many kinds of contamination. As will become clear, the invention may be used against a variety of contaminants, but the invention will be described mainly as it relates to the treatment of the kinds of contaminants emanating from the tailings impoundments associated with mine workings.
The conventional manner by which such contaminants have been treated has involved removing the groundwater from the aquifer and treating the water, at an above-ground treatment facility, with such filters, chemicals, etc as may be required. The treated water may be allowed to re-enter the aquifer, or the water may be led away to a stream or other drainage means.
With the different kinds of conventional treatment process, the process may be such as to break down the contaminant and render it harmless, or the process may simply extract the materials from the water, leaving the contaminant material itself intact, in which case the material still may constitute a hazard; the former type of process of course is to be preferred.
Removing groundwater from its native aquifer on a large scale is enormously expensive. The invention is aimed at providing a practical economical system whereby groundwater may be treated against a wide variety of contaminants while the water remains in-situ, ie within its native aquifer.